Showing that things never seem to stay still on Manchester Metrolink the first track has now been laid on the Trafford Park line – ahead of its scheduled opening in 2020. The first track was laid at Parkway Circle with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, Cllr Sean Anstee, Leader of Trafford Council, and Cllr Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, all on hand for the usual photographic opportunity.
The Trafford Park line is said to offer “sustainable transport links to some of Greater Manchester’s busiest visitor destinations including intu Trafford Centre, EventCity, Imperial War Museum North and Old Trafford football stadium”. Six new stops will be built on the line at Wharfside, Imperial War Museum North, Village, Parkway, EventCity and Trafford Centre. The line will be largely on a traffic-free segregated route which will help to create reliable journey times throughout the day.
Cllr Andrew Fender said: “Following the recent major expansion of the Metrolink network and completion of the second city crossing, it’s great that we have been able to maintain the momentum with building the Trafford Park line. It’s ever more important for TfGM to provide sustainable public transport alternatives to better serve our communities now and into the future.”
Services from this new line will run through Manchester City Centre to a new improved stop at Crumpsall, work on which has already got underway. It is planned that services will start during 2020.
Andy Burnham commented: “Improving public transport in Greater Manchester is a top priority for me. By extending Metrolink to some of the busiest visitor attractions in Greater Manchester, we can give people a real alternative to driving and help reduce traffic congestion. The Trafford Park Line is one of the first schemes to benefit from Greater Manchester’s devolution agreement and it is great to be here and witness this major milestone and the first piece of track being laid. Metrolink plays a pivotal role in connecting people to job, leisure and retail opportunities and this extension through Europe’s largest trading estate to Event City and intu Trafford Centre will only enhance this further.”
Looking at the network from afar, I keep asking myself how Metrolink intend to cope with the bottleneck between Cornbrook and St. Peter’s Square with six routes, presumably all at a 12 minute interval.
The eventual planned number of 12 minute interval services is 9 giving a total of 45 trams per hour. The current total during the weekday and Saturday so called peak is 7 12 minute interval services or 35 trams per hour. This total was successfully coped with even with the Airport service having to reverse and slot back in at Deansgate Castlefield. I suspect that now that they run through things will be a little easier.
The extra 2 services taking it up to 45 trams per hour are the Trafford Centre to Crumpsall and an additional Airport to Victoria. It’s certainly not ideal having that restriction along the viaduct but with turnback facilities at both Cornbrook and Deansgate Castlefield there are ways of coping with out of course events.